HOUSTON - For the final time during the regular season, the University of Houston Men's Basketball team will play host to a non-conference game when the Cougars meet Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m., Monday, inside Hofheinz Pavilion.

Fan should note Monday's unique starting time, which was made to accommodate the ESPN3 broadcast. Following Monday's game, the Cougars don't return home until they open American Athletic Conference play at 8 p.m., Dec. 31, vs. No. 12 UConn inside Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Cougars (6-4) enter Monday's game on the heels of a heartbreaking 72-68 home loss to San Jose State inside Hofheinz Pavilion. Against the Spartans, guards Brandon Morris and Jherrod Stiggers nailed four 3-pointers apiece on the way to career-high point totals.

However, San Jose State rallied late in the game during its first trip to Hofheinz Pavilion.

This season, junior forward TaShawn Thomas leads the Cougars and ranks among the American Athletic Conference leaders with 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Sophomore point guard L.J. Rose stands third on the team with 10.4 points per game and ranks third in the league with 5.1 assists per contest.

STUDENT SURVIVAL PACKS
As UH students prepare for the semester's final examinations, they are invited to take a much-needed study break during Monday's game. Students with valid UH IDs will receive free pizza while supplies last as well as FREE Finals Survival Packs to the first 100 students in attendance. These packs include snacks, scantrons, bluebooks, pens and pencils.

During the game, students in attendance can register for a chance to win skull candy earphones, a Samsung table or a $100 Visa Gift Card. Winners will be determined by in-game raffle and announced in the second half.

ON THE AIR
Fans can watch Monday's game live on ESPN3 or by clicking here. It will be one of 28 televised games for the Cougars this season. Brett Dolan will call the play-by-play action with Houston great Reid Gettys providing analysis.

Fans can hear the game live on 950 AM KPRC with Matt Thomas calling the play-by-play action and Basketball Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes providing analysis. Fans also can hear the game with a paid subscription to Cougar All-Access by clicking here. Due to the ESPN broadcasts, Cougar All-Access will not provide video streams for televised games for the entire season.

Fans can follow live stats by clicking the GameTracker link or by clicking here.

UP NEXT
Following Monday's game, the Cougars head east on Interstate 10 to meet Louisiana-Lafayette at 7:05 p.m., Saturday, inside the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.

From there, the team will take a week off from their schedule before meeting crosstown-rival Rice at 3:30 p.m., Dec. 21, in the first game of the Lone Star Showcase inside the Toyota Center. Texas A&M meets Oklahoma at 6 p.m., Dec. 21, in the nightcap of that twinbill.

The showdown against Rice will be the Cougars' final non-conference game of the season.

TICKETS INFORMATION
General Admission season tickets start for as low as $195, while Reserved season tickets start at only $280. Families can purchase the Memorial Hermann Family Fun Plan of two adult and two youth General Admission tickets for only $399.

Mini-plans also are on sale now. In the Conference Mini-Plan, fans can buy tickets to all nine American Athletic Conference home games, including defending national champion Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis and UConn, with General Admission seating starting at $120 and Reserved Seating selling for $165.

With the 6-Pack, fans receive tickets for all four weekend home conference games against Rutgers, SMU, Temple and UCF, the Feb. 5 showdown against Louisville and a choice of the UConn, Cincinnati or Memphis games with General Admission seating for only $80 and Reserved Seating for $110.

Fans who purchase season tickets will receive a free Guy V. Lewis bobblehead later this season. Lewis was a legendary coach for the Cougars from 1956-86, compiling nearly 600 wins with five NCAA Final Four appearances, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

Fans can purchase season tickets or mini-plans by visiting or calling the Athletics Ticket Office at 713-Go-COOGS (462-6647) or 877-COUGAR-5 (268-4275) or by clicking here.

To secure parking spaces and to support student-athlete scholarships through Cougar Pride for the upcoming season, fans should contact Cougar Pride at 713-743-GoUH or email cougarpride@uh.edu. Fans also can visit UHCougars.com and click the Cougar Pride tab for more information.

Fans should remember that purchasing Men's Basketball season tickets will help their standing in the Cougar Pride Priority Point System, which determines seating priority in the new Houston Football Stadium when it opens in August 2014.

Fans receive two Priority Points per sport per account when purchasing Men's Basketball season tickets, and every Priority Point improves each fan's ranking in the System.

ABOUT ALCORN STATE
Alcorn State enters Monday's game with a 3-4 overall record. The Braves have lost their last three games after a season-long three-game winning streak.

In its most recent game, Alcorn State dropped a 73-70 decision in double overtime at Troy on Dec. 2. Although Troy failed to hit a field goal in either overtime period, the Trojans nailed 13-of-16 free throw attempts to take the win.

Against Troy, LeAntwan Luckett came off the bench to score 16 points with five assists, while forward Marquis Vance added 14 points. Forward Octavius Brown finished with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while guard Devontae Hampton added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.

This season, Luckett paces the Braves with 12.3 points per game. Brown stands second with 11.9 points and 2.1 assists per contest but leads Alcorn State with 6.6 rebounds per game.

Head coach Luther Riley is in his third year at Alcorn State, assembling a 23-50 record during that time. Monday's game will be the first time that he has faced Houston.